Monday, February 10, 2020

In When Jenn LIKES Doing "Just" The WDW Marathon

A couple days after the Walt Disney World Marathon, half the people you encounter in Orlando International Airport ran the race. We're all decked out in our gear, a lot of have on our medals, and we're all dying to talk about it; it's one of the only times I ever cheerfully talk to strangers.

So there I am, chatting with a nice family from Houston as I wait outside my gate with my subpar airport wrap. Seeing my medal, they congratulate me on completing the Goofy Challenge. "We only ran the marathon," they say, almost apologetically.

Weirdly enough, I have had a conversation like this on multiple occasions. Heck, my very first time in 2015, when I did Dopey, I met a woman who said practically the same thing: "Oh, I only ran the marathon."

Excuse me? You only did what now?

You only ran 26.2 grueling miles that you trained hard for? You're one of the, I don't know, 1% of the population or whatever that can call themselves a marathoner?

Look, I can get caught up in this way of thinking myself sometimes. Of my six WDW Marathons, only two have been completed as part of challenges. "Oh, you did Dopey; I just ran the marathon," I once said to the woman next to me at the California Grill bar.

And it's not like we're wrong. We did, comparatively, do less.

But we still ran a full freakin' marathon, which sure as hell ain't nothing. And besides, I like running only the marathon. The challenges are fun and all, but running only one race makes the whole thing less stressful. There are all the anxiety-inducing trappings of the race, of course - waking up and getting to the bus on time, etc. - but mostly you don't have to think about anything but that one experience. You can relax and enjoy it. Everything you've got in the tank is fresh; no leftovers here. And you're not yet jaded by course or characters. It's a good time.

Doing Dopey and Goofy was awesome. But I think next year I might do just the marathon. I kinda like it that way.